Until just a short time ago, Zaha Hadid was better known for the buildings she had not constructed than for those she had. Her spectacular work brought floods of clients, but the formal difficulty of her designs was extreme. All this is now in the past. Today, her fluid spaces, which used to be light years ahead of their time, set the benchmark and can be seen all over the world. Her constructions provoke the imagination of whoever has the pleasure of seeing them. In this design, guests will feel as if they are in a space almost out of science fiction, yet paradoxically, it is also accessible, within an arm’s reach. Zaha Hadid has created an architectural vernacular that encourages one to dream and imagine different worlds, mainly emerging from the possibilities of digital design which have placed this architect at the forefront of the profession with works such as the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and a building for BMW in Leipzig, Germany.

Lobby and hallway

In general, this is a white, clean, provocative space with excellent lighting.

Upon leaving the lift, in the lobby, the guest discovers a space characterised by sinuous, curved shapes. First we notice a slim, sinuously shaped lamp christened with the name Vortexx (perhaps because it somewhat resembles a hurricane, a vortex), which dominates the entire space. Hadid and Patrik Schumacher have designed it for Sawaya & Moroni, and it changes colour every so often. It is truly spectacular and is placed at eye level so that all the changes can be appreciated. The light seems almost like a liquid within the twisted shapes of this lamp. What also draws our attention are the benches that issue from the wall. Most noteworthy in the hallways are the finishes in LG Hi-Macs, a ductile material that fits Zaha Hadid’s bold architecture like a glove.

Rooms

In the rooms, the most outstanding feature is the spaciousness and clean lines conferred by the white colour of the floor and walls. What is more, the guest is submerged in a world somewhere between Baroque, Modernism and Minimalism, due in the first case to the sinuous shapes, and in the second to the brightness furnished by white. Thus is Hadid’s work: difficult to categorise, eclectic and surprising.

One of the most noteworthy elements is the lighting created for the doors. This entails a strip of LEDs that illuminate the messages on the doors. In this way, from the inside guests can indicate whether they want breakfast to be served, the room to be tidied, not to be bothered, or any repair to be made. The door handles, exclusively designed by the architect for the Hotel Puerta América, are a veritable feast for sight and touch.

Inside the room, and also from a piece of the same LG Hi-Macs (Hadid’s room is also a study on this material’s potentialities) emerge the bed, the desk and the other furniture. Everything seems to issue from the wall and gives the impression that, at the guest’s orders, it could be stowed back into the wall. The architect has designed expressly for the hotel a chair that is extremely voluminous yet lightweight in appearance. The bed has halogen lighting embedded in the lower part of the headboard, perfect for the guest who wants to relax awhile by reading in bed.

The bathroom is a single structure from floor to ceiling which changes colour according to the room. It is a monochromatic space. The bathtub melds with the sink, without sunder. The toilet, a piece by Stefano Giovannoni for Alessi, fits in perfectly with the rounded, futuristic lines characteristic of Hadid’s architecture. The waste basket is a deluxe design created exclusively for the hotel, an utter challenge for guests with imagination, because it is not so easy to find. Do you dare try?